PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island Congressman Seth Magaziner has emerged as a leading voice in the effort to ban members of Congress from buying and selling stocks, which appears poised for a breakthrough this month.
“Everyone knows Washington is broken,” Magaziner, a second-term Democrat, told 12 News last week. “Corruption and self-dealing are out of control.”
Magaziner has spent months in private negotiations with an ideologically diverse group of lawmakers as they seek to reach consensus on how to structure a potential trading ban, which would also include lawmakers’ family members. They are focused on prohibiting the purchase or sale of individual company shares, while still allowing legislators to own mutual funds.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources, that the group has ironed out an agreement on a consensus bill expected to be unveiled this week. Magaziner declined to share specific details about the timeline but expressed optimism about the negotiations.
“I think we are very close to accomplishing that, and hopefully in the next couple weeks we will be able to release a consensus bill that all of the leaders in this space agree on and are aligned on,” Magaziner said. “I’m optimistic because those talks have been going well.”
Magaziner’s central role in the talks has received widespread media attention in Washington, with Friday’s Journal article characterizing him as the lead negotiator, and other outlets such as Politico, Punchbowl News, The Hill, PBS NewsHour and Semafor also citing him.
The 42-year-old lawmaker took over as lead Democratic sponsor of one of the bills to ban stock trading — the TRUST in Congress Act — after former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger retired last year to be the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor. In January, he held a news conference on the steps of the Capitol alongside the bill’s other lead sponsor, Texas Republican Chip Roy, to renew efforts to pass it.
The TRUST in Congress Act had nearly 100 co-sponsors as of last week, up from 46 when it was reintroduced in January.
The push comes at a time when public trust in Congress remains near historic lows. Polling shows overwhelming bipartisan support for a stock trading ban, which comes after members of both parties have faced scrutiny over their portfolios. Top leaders in both parties have indicated at least openness to a ban.
“We have real momentum here because for the first time, you see leaders in both parties saying, yeah, this is probably something that we should do,” Magaziner said.
The renewed momentum this year has been driven in part by volatile market swings tied to President Trump’s tariff decisions, with news outlets reporting some members of Congress were playing the markets amid the turmoil.
“When Donald Trump first announced the broad-based tariffs that he has put into place, the market plunged,” Magaziner said. “Then a couple days later, he announced that he was reversing a lot of those tariffs and the market shot back up. Anybody who had prior knowledge of either of those announcements could have made a lot of money based on that inside information.”
The coalition pushing for the ban brings together lawmakers from across the political spectrum, ranging from Freedom Caucus members like Roy to progressive Democrats like New York’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Other players in the negotiations include Republicans Tim Burchett and Brian Fitzpatrick and Democrats Pramila Jayapal and Joe Morelle.
“The real dividing line on this issue is not left or right,” Magaziner said. “It’s who went to Washington to try to be a change agent and shake things up versus who is wedded to the status quo.” He also acknowledged that critics of a ban “tend to be very quiet, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.”
“I do believe ultimately that if Speaker Johnson has the courage to give us a vote, that the public pressure will be so overwhelming that we will be able to get this done,” he said.
Magaziner made his support for a stock trading ban a key promise during his 2022 campaign for Congress, when he won a narrow victory over Republican Allan Fung. A TV commercial touting Magaziner’s support for a ban aired in heavy rotation.
A Target 12 investigation at the time revealed that the lawmaker Magaziner and Fung were vying to replace — Democrat Jim Langevin — had bought and sold at least $1 million of shares during the first eight months of that year.
In statements to 12 News, all but one of the lawmakers who represent Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts in Congress indicated support for some form of stock trading ban. (All are Democrats.)
In the House, Massachusetts Congressmen Jake Auchincloss and Bill Keating have both cosponsored bills to ban stock trading by members of Congress, including Magaziner’s. Rhode Island Congressman Gabe Amo has not, but issued a statement expressing overall support for the effort.
“People, not personal enrichment should be what public service is all about — whether you’re serving in the White House or Congress,” Amo said.
Keating’s office noted that he is also a co-sponsor of the Stock Act 2.0, which would extend trading restrictions to the president, vice president, Supreme Court justices and senior Federal Reserve officials.
In the Senate, a spokesperson for Rhode Island’s Sheldon Whitehouse said he “supports a ban on members trading stocks and is reviewing the various proposals.” Whitehouse’s own investments have drawn scrutiny in the past, though his office has consistently maintained that trades in his account are conducted by a financial advisor without any input from the senator or his family.
Rhode Island U.S. Sen. Jack Reed “continues to support a ban on stock ownership and trading by members of Congress,” according to spokesperson Chip Unruh. Reed does not own or trade individual stocks and “strongly supports Congressman Magaziner’s bill and others like it,” Unruh said.
Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has also been a vocal supporter of a ban on congressional stock trading. A spokesperson for the state’s other senator, Ed Markey, has not responded to a request for comment.
Magaziner argued both parties have a political incentive to enact a ban.
“I think it was a missed opportunity that Democrats did not pass a stock trading ban when Democrats were in control of Congress,” he said. “If Republicans fail to do it in this Congress, that will be a missed opportunity for them as well.”
“People in this country are hungry for change,” he said. “They want reform. They want ethics in government again. And whichever party actually delivers on this when they are in control, I think, will have a very good story to tell the voters.”
Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi’s Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook.
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